CDC Committee Unanimously Votes To Add COVID Shots to Childhood Vaccination Schedule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Center for Disease Control Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 15-0 today to add the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID shots to the child and adolescent immunization schedules for children who attend public schools. This means that public schools will now be able to mandate the shots in order for children to attend public school. The Committee voted in favor of this despite receiving thousands of negative public comments. The immunization schedule does not dictate what vaccinations are required for school entry, as only states can decide that. However, it is likely to prompt some to add the COVID vaccine to their list. Currently, more than a dozen states including Virginia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, New Jersey and Vermont, follow the CDC vaccination guidelines to set requirements for children to be educated.